A.J.'s 'Paul Morphy' Web Page

on

(If
you would like to see a few more pics of this player, click here.
Or here.)

***

This
web page will be my little "Paul Morphy Central." It will have two
sections. The first will be a list of all the relevant web sites that have MAJOR P. Morphy content, (Games and/or articles about this great player.); and
the second section will contain a list of games and links. I will endeavor to
"scrub the web" on this one.
(Many of the games will be annotated by yours truly, but not all the games
will be by me. If I can find a significant source of games, I will list
them.)

***

First,
I will give you a few biographies.

***

MORPHY,
Paul Charles , (1837–84)
- American chess player, born in New Orleans, LA.
At 10 he learned the game and at 21 was acknowledged as the greatest player in
the world. Not only was Morphy possessed of a phenomenal memory, which he
demonstrated in astounding feats of simultaneous blindfold play, but his style
of play was in direct contrast to that of his time. He was a master of the
open game, in which center pawns are exchanged, open files are utilized, and
rapid development of the pieces is demanded. D. Harrwitz, J. Löwenthal, and
Adolph Anderssen were among the many who succumbed to his crushing
combinations. After 1859, when he had returned to New Orleans from world
triumphs, mental instability ended his chess play. (From an on-line
encyclopedia.)

***

Paul
Morphy - 'The Pride and Sorrow of Chess'
"For a brief moment he appeared on the chess scene and brilliantly
defeated the world's leading players. In the flower of his youth he withdrew
from the game if not indeed from life itself, and died at the end of a long
decline." From the book, "TheEncyclopediaofChess," by Anne Sunnucks. (Page # 310.)
(Her write-up on this great player extends many pages, I do not intend to
reproduce all of that here.)

***

Paul
Morphy - Perhaps the greatest player who ever lived, statistically 'the
gap' that separated him from his generation was larger than any other player
in the history of the game of chess. He learned the game when he was very
young, (4-5) and he demonstrated a remarkable proclivity for the game at a
very tender age, indeed he was beating his Uncle Ernst at age 6 or 7 years
old. (All the more remarkable, as his Uncle may have been one of the top
players in the country!) He played several players, some of whom were among
the strongest amateur players in the country - when he was just a lad (before
age 10) and trounced them thoroughly. (This is all documented in David Lawson's book.)

Morphy
was also a gifted student, who took highly accelerated courses, he was doing
university level math before age 10.
("He was an apt pupil, gifted with a fine memory; and fond of drama and
music." - A. Sunnucks.)
Lawson noted that he, "received many awards and premiums for his studies
in MANY subjects."
He had a prodigious memory - indeed it was rumored to be photographic. His
lifelong companion said he NEVER forgot a game of chess, he could instantly
re-create an entire game from an event, even if it wasn't his own. All it took
was to glance at the game every 5-10 moves! (Morphy committed the ENTIRE LAW CODE OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
... TO MEMORY!!!!!! The only person to ever accomplish
such a feat, that I know of.)

Paul
Morphy finished his studies before he was 18, and passed the Bar Exam the
following year. As he was too young to practice law, (The legal age for this
was then 21, although most firms would not hire you until you were much
older.); so he turned his attention to chess. He traveled to New York, and
played in a chess congress there. He was vastly superior to ALL American
players, this was completely unquestioned. (Later he would play a match - AT
KNIGHT ODDS - against the #2 or # 3 American player ... and WIN!!!)

Morphy
then proceeded to Europe, where he proved he was much better than all the
other players there. Even A. Anderssen, whom in my opinion belongs in the best
100 players ever - was unable to provide much of a challenge to Morphy. The
only player of any note that he did not play, was Howard Staunton. This is
because it was clearly evident he was the superior player and Staunton ducked
any head-on confrontation.

He
returned home to the U.S. to a hero's welcome. Accolades of the highest honour
were bestowed upon him. Parties and parades were thrown on his behalf. Artists
put his likeness on statues, coins, paintings, and virtually anything else you
can think of. Instead of being honored by all the attention, he seemed rather
embarrassed by it all. Perhaps he did not realize what he had done ... or why
it was so important.
(AT THAT TIME ... virtually everything in the America's - economy, art, social
status, virtually anything else - were considered to GREATLY inferior
to anything "on the continent." [From, "The Old
World."] Morphy was the first American to prove he was equal {or
superior!} to The Europeans at anything!!!)

Paul
Morphy returned home to New Orleans to try to resume a normal life, but this
seemed impossible. His notoriety made law practise, or even a normal life
impossible. (He was reportedly jilted by the woman he loved, she would not
deign, "to marry a mere chess-player.") Soon the country was
engulfed in the Civil War, even Paul Morphy was not to escape the horrific
impact this event had on our nation.

After
the war, he became something of a recluse. He was supported by his family and
friends - he had no real income of his own. (He lived in his mother's home.) Publicly,
he detested the mere
mention of chess - privately he demonstrated he still had the talent, if he
was inclined to play. Indeed, he seemed to enjoy talking about 'old times'
with his life-long friend and companion, Charles Maurian. He still attended
theatre and opera in the area also. His problems grew much worse as time
progressed.

In
the end, Morphy was consumed with paranoia and delusions of persecution. His
health was also affected, his sister later wrote she was concerned he was not
eating properly. His cause of death is not 100% certain, although it is
thought he died of a stroke ... perhaps brought on by the 'rigours of a hardy
walk' on a very hot Louisiana afternoon, and then almost immediately
afterwards - immersing
himself in a cool bath.

Every
American, and especially every chess-player, should remember and respect Paul
Morphy. He is easily one of the greatest of all chess players from this land.
Only H.N. Pillsbury and Bobby Fischer are worthy of the recognition and being
on, 'the same rung of the ladder,' as this great player. - LIFE Master A.J. Goldsby I

Paul
Morphy (1837-1884), is called the " pride and sorrow of chess." He
became the best player in the world and could have become recognized the first
true world champion, but he retired at the peak of his powers after an active
career of only two years.

Paul
Morphy was a life-long resident of New Orleans. His father was a prominent man
who served as both Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice of Louisiana,
and his uncle Ernest was one of the best-known chess analysts in the United
States. When Paul was only eight years of age, he witnessed the first US
Championship contest ever held, a match won by Charles Stanley of New York
over a New Orleans master named Rousseau. That historic match was held in New
Orleans.

Most
of Paul Morphy's early chess development came in practice against relatives
and local players, but he burst into national fame by winning the First
American Chess Congress in 1857. His victory there made him the second US
champion in history. Paul Morphy then traveled to Europe for the express
purpose of challenging the best players in the world. In a series of matches,
he easily defeated the best players of the continent. Although he was
frustrated in his efforts to arrange a match against the long-time English
champion, Howard Staunton, no one seriously doubted that he would have
defeated Staunton by an overwhelming score. Morphy's style of play was as
spectacular as his results; in many of his games, he won by brilliant
sacrifices that still amaze and entertain players today.

When
Paul Morphy returned to the US, he was acclaimed a national hero. Even among
the millions of Americans who did not play chess, he was viewed as having
brought world-wide honor to the United States. Baseball clubs and cigars were
named after him.

Inexplicably,
however, Morphy did not play serious chess again. The secession of his state
disrupted Morphy's life, as he opposed secession, and he became a reclusive
individual in later life. However, chess players all around the world continue
to revere Paul Morphy today as one of the greatest and most brilliant players
in history.

Below
is my section of links to sites with information on Paul Morphy. I have spent
about 50 hours perusing the web and tried to get a few of the better and
different sites for you. However, you can always fire up your web
browser and enter in, "Paul Morphy," and then click - SEARCH!
Happy hunting! (I found over 5000 matches!) Keep you busy, eh?

Another
good tip? Go to www.amazon.com
and search in the <book section> under Paul Morphy.
Lots of matches,
too!

NOTE:
I checked these links today, I had several e-mails about non-functioning links.
However, constantly checking links is not something that I care to do. Further -
with the advent and advances of search engines like "Google,"
it really is not necessary. If a link does not work, simply move on to the next
one. (Rest assured - that the first day that I first posted all of these links,
they worked. Thursday; May 26th, 2005.)

Chess
Sites with articles or write-ups on Morphy

My
{formerly Geo-Cities} web-site
has quite a bit on this great player. The best page, in my opinion?
Visit my "Best Players"page.
You may find my discussion of Morphy as the best player
of all time to be
VERY interesting. (Click HERE
to go there now.)

The
guys at 'chess-poster' have a whole section of their web-site
devoted to this great player.
(Click HERE
to go there now.)

Someone
named "Sarah Beth"
has done a FABULOUS
site(s) on Paul Morphy!!
(She also has a nice page
of game collections, mostly un-annotated.)
There is a nice biography, a page on Morphy's heritage, etc. This site also
has MANY GAMES
(mostly UN-annotated) you can view on a nice viewer.
Click HERE
to go there now. (This one little Morphy site has DOZENS of
pages!!)
(There are also games to download!) Maybe the BEST
Morphy site on the net?

Chennai
Interactive Businesses, Ltd, has a very nice web site. They also have a
pretty fair
section on Morphy, and games to view or download. (Click
HERE to go
there now.)

"Chess
Links" has a very nice page of links of pages, and
things to see and do.
(All on Paul Morphy, of course.) Click here
to go there now.

I.
Marin, of Stanford University, has a nice homepage.
This includes a pretty extensive section on chess.
He has a whole section
devoted to the great masters. (Right now just Morphy and Steinitz.)
He has four whole sections (pages) devoted to Morphy. Click HERE
to go to his first one! (Last time I checked, this page was not
functioning.)

You
can also search the ONLY on-line "Chess Encyclopedia" for
Morphy. Click HERE.

Search
GOOGLE ... ... ... for all the best
sites about this great player.

Chess
Sites with games of Paul Morphy (Check
the section above for sites with games, also!)

My
{formerly Geo-Cities} web-site
has several complete annotated games of Morphy.
However you can
see the game, Morphy vs. Two
Amateurs;( The famous game of Morphy played against consultation
partners at
the Paris Opera House, in 1858. This game is annotated
DEEPLY. {You may want to use a chess-board, in addition to the MANY
diagrams.} There is also a java-script re-play version
of this game.
Pay attention, and you will see the link.). Or the game,
Lichtenhein -
Morphy;1st American Chess Congress, 1857. ( This is
one of Morphy's MOST brilliant games, annotated here in a very
meticulous manner. Many diagrams. There is also a java-script re-play version
of this game, also.) Or the game Morphy - A.
Amateur;
New Orleans, 1858. (A nice King's Gambit VERY brilliantly
played by Morphy. This game is found in DOZENS of chess books. Again, I
have analyzed this game in GREAT depth. Sorry, you will need a chess-board
for this one.)

The
game, Paul Morphy - Marache; New York, 1857. Click HERE
to go there now.
(This game is carefully annotated and is in java-script re-play
form.)

The
"Euwe Chess Academy"
has a nice, on-line instructional site. They also have analyzed several of
Morphy's games.
For an example of their work, click HERE
now. (Discontinued?)

Mark
Weeks has a nice little chess
site, with a whole section on Morphy. There are
highlights, games, stuff to download.
Click HERE
to go there now.

VIEW
415 GAMES OF Morphy!!, (Looks like they are ALLUN-Annotated.
'Wats.'); on-line on
the "Misty Beach" chess viewer. Click HERE
to go there now. Very easy to see AND use! Good job,
Stan! (But ... is it live, - - - or is it Memorex?) IN FACT, "Not bad ... not bad at all." (The Prez, in the movie; "Independence Day.")
---> BY THE WAY
... as one reader points out, Paul Morphy played hundreds ... if not
thousands ... of chess games. Many of these might not be recorded. (His
Uncle - in a newspaper article - once recalled that Paul played "10 -
or more" games on the weekends, {every week}
but few of these contests were ever recorded or saved.) How many
games actually exist today? This is hard to say, it really depends on
which source you consult. (You can go HERE and search for the games of
Morphy, there is also a nice GAME
COLLECTION of his from the folks at CB that you can purchase.)

A
few of Morphy's Best games, carefully annotated
(by me) and posted on my various websites. (Some are in java-script replay form, others are just plain
text.)

Paul Morphy's ultra-brilliant
game against Henry Bird.
(1858) (The latest Russian analysis shows that Morphy did the
right thing by sacrificing all that material! Check out my posts and
analysis as "LIFE Master AJ"
on this page, there are two that
are rather lengthy and probably contain some analysis that you may not
have read about before.) I also (now) have a web page on this game,
click here
to go there now.